The Global Furniture Expo Center in Hai'an city. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

The new Hai'an (Furniture) Intellectual Property Rapid Protection Center has passed inspection and received approval from the China National Intellectual Property Administration to begin operations.

It's the second national-level IP rapid protection center in Nantong following the establishment of the Nantong (Home Textile) IP Center.

Furniture is a pillar industry in Hai'an city, known for its distinctive clusters and contribution to local prosperity.

The sector has developed into a complete industrial chain covering design, production, logistics and sales — with an annual output value of 41 billion yuan ($5.76 billion), accounting for over 5 percent of China's total.

The facility now provides enterprises with one-stop services — including rapid patent pre-examinations and expedited protection procedures — significantly shortening the IP protection cycle and reducing enforcement costs.

To date, more than 70 enterprises have completed patent pre-examination filings. What's more, the authorization time for design patents has been reduced from one to three months to just five to seven days.

By working with local police, courts and customs authorities, Hai'an has built a collaborative IP protection mechanism that offers enforcement assistance, infringement assessment, administrative mediation and rulings — helping businesses to resolve their disputes more efficiently.

In addition, the center has adopted innovative service models, conducting in-depth visits to enterprises to address challenges in design innovation, technology upgrading and brand building.

These efforts are said to provide strong support for the high-quality development of Hai'an's furniture industry.